Library Data NEWS
Roundtable concludes variety will continue with open access
A roundtable discussion including publishers, researchers and librarians and hosted by JISC in the UK has concluded that the open-access landscape will be characterised by variety. Mark Patterson, director of publishing at the Public Library of Science, explained that he saw that there have been, ‘signifi cant changes in the publishing world with several open-access titles launching over the past 18 months. We are seeing a publishing system evolving and adapting to online and digital media. However, it is not just access to research articles and papers that is important, it is also being
able to re-use and share the content of those articles so new knowledge can be created.’ A one-size-fi ts-all approach is not appropriate for open access, argued Neil Jacobs JISC’s programme director for digital infrastructure: ‘In some areas of physics, where a pre-print culture is normal, open access has been built around that. In other disciplines, such as in some areas of the life sciences, there are major open-access journals and repositories. Open access is not yet common in chemistry, and the importance of monographs presents different challenges in the humanities,’ he pointed out. The debate also looked at the
possible paths to transition from the traditional journal model through to gold open access, as well as considering the benefi ts of a hybrid model. There was agreement that peer review must remain a cornerstone of scientifi c publication, to ensure author’s reputations and the credibility of the research. Lorraine Estelle CEO of JISC Collections commented that ‘there is likely to be a mixed economy for quite some time yet because it is a global issue and unless the whole world moves to open access in a particular discipline, there is going to be some subscription for those articles that are coming from other countries’.
Industry welcomes recommendations on IP in UK
The European Publishers Council (EPC), the British Library and JISC are among the organisations that have welcomed the recommendations made to the UK Government by the Hargreaves Review. These recommendations propose an intellectual property framework designed to increase growth and innovation in the UK. Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library, said: ‘This is a critical moment in the development of an intellectual property framework that is fi t for the 21st century. The report has recognised the importance of copyright in the digital age to education and research. Hargreaves’ recommendations, including those relating to the digitisation of orphan works, text and data mining, and digital preservation will
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have an immediate benefi t for research, life-long learning and teaching. I welcome the recommendations for legislation to ensure that hard won copyright exceptions are protected and cannot be overridden by individual contracts.’
The Library also supported measures to allow text and data mining with a view to encouraging medical, environmental and other scientifi c research – along with streamlined processes for clearing rights for commercially-produced works to be used in digital libraries and other cultural projects. Brindley also praised the proposal to create the world’s fi rst Digital Copyright Exchange by the end of 2012. Meanwhile, the EPC welcomed the fact that the Hargreaves Review is not advocating that the UK
Government should itself create this Digital Copyright Exchange but rather bring together all relevant interests with the aim of establishing a network of interoperable databases to provide a common platform for licensing transactions. Angela Mills Wade, EPC’s executive director said: ‘We support the recommendation that government has a role in sponsoring the steps needed for the market to establish itself. What is crucial is something that can be easily adopted by other countries, that will scale elegantly and that can be defi ned and developed by the market, not by regulators. A 21st century workable standards infrastructure is the fi rst step to fulfi lling the report’s claim of making “the UK the best place in the world to do business in digital content”.’
Elsevier launches competition to develop library apps
Elsevier has launched a competition to encourage librarians and information professionals to come up with solutions to the challenges they face in the search and discovery of information. Selected app concepts in the SciVerse Applications Apps for Library Idea Challenge will be posted on the challenge website and open to commentary from peers and the public. This is intended to enable a dialogue within the librarian community to identify problems and discuss potential solutions. Two prize winners will be selected – one by a panel of judges and one by community vote. The deadline is 2 September 2011.
Publishers
Communication Group expands into India
Publishers Communication Group (PCG) has opened an offi ce in New Delhi, India. PCG, a division of Publishing Technology, will be offering sales and marketing activities targeting the ever-growing academic readership in India. Initially representing
BioOne, the American Society for Microbiology, and Adam Matthew Digital, the New Delhi offi ce should allow PCG to build stronger relationships with over 500 academic universities and over 3,000 technical education institutes in India for the publishers it represents. PCG will also aim to provide on-the-ground insights into the Indian publishing market for US and European clients.
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